


I'd Do It Again

by heatgeneratingtechniques



Series: werewolf Rhett [1]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-28 00:09:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8423122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatgeneratingtechniques/pseuds/heatgeneratingtechniques
Summary: It can take years to realize that standing between a rabid beast and your best friend was the best decision of your life.





	

Rhett gets bitten shortly after he turns thirteen, on the night of a full moon when he really should have stayed indoors. He clearly remembers his family on the trip to the hospital afterwards, his father driving tight-lipped, his mother holding him tearfully, his brother Cole watching him with wide eyes. He didn’t feel much himself on that drive except a sense of numbness, remembering how the wolf had lunged at him out of the darkness how and his only thought had been _not Link, not Link._

Because Link was there, of course. They were going night fishing, which Link had suggested they try after learning about it from a friend of Cole’s. There hadn’t been a werewolf sighting in Buies Creek in almost nine years anyway, so they figured they were safe.

But the werewolf burst from the bushes, rushing at them in a terrible shambling half-run. Rhett saw it – _not Link, not Link_ – pushed his best friend behind him, and got the wind knocked out of him as the wolf tackled him to the ground.

The werewolf was terrifying up close, a furred lupine face with slavering jaws and a faint look of terror in still-human brown eyes. Rhett punched and kicked with everything he had. They scrabbled on the sidewalk, rolling into the grass as Rhett tried to keep the beast’s head away from his body. A neighbor heard the commotion and rushed out with her handgun, dispatching the beast with a single well-placed shot.

She crouched beside Rhett, air whistling through her teeth. “You got bit, son.”

His arm was bleeding badly, but Rhett couldn’t feel it. He looked up at Link then, but only found there a reflection of his own shock.

In the emergency room, they start on anti-werewolf measures immediately. Thick needles jabbed into his bitten arm are full of something that _burns_ as it flows into his body. Rhett tries to be tough about it, tries to not make a sound as the pain worsens, but the procedure _hurts_ so much and his family isn’t allowed to see him yet and he hates how the nurses all look at him with eyebrows crinkled up in pity. He covers his face with his good arm and cries, but he tries to cry quietly because he’s feeling terribly embarrassed.

He doesn’t get any sleep that night. They try several rounds of treatment, but in the end, when he’s been admitted to his own hospital room and his family is with him, the doctor tells them that it’s too late.

Rhett’s a werewolf now.

Link and his mother come to visit later that day. She kisses Rhett and cries a little and finally convinces Rhett’s mom to get some fresh air, and the two of them go out for a walk. Link’s eyes are red, but he tells Rhett a few jokes and asks him how he’s feeling. It’s only right before they leave and their parents are busy talking that he tiptoes back to Rhett’s side, whispers a quick “Thank you,” and kisses him on the cheek.

Rhett likes that part.

~

He has to get a tracking chip implanted in his back before he leaves. There are certain things that have been decided for him thanks to the bite. Werewolves can’t join the military (although Rhett’s height disqualifies him from this anyway) or work in certain precision-demanding fields. Whenever he travels to a new city, he’ll be required by law to check in at the nearest police station, because even though werewolf transformations are becoming exceedingly rare thanks to medical advancements, one can never be too careful. He’ll have trouble controlling his temper and sleeping at night unless it’s cloudy or a new moon.

At school, he has to stop by the nurse’s office every day before lunch. The nurse asks him how he feels, checks his temperature, and hands him two tiny cups – one with the pill, the other with some water. Link always waits for him outside.

He doesn’t know what to feel about Link anymore. His best friend sticks by his side and they still spend hours together after school, but they are both more subdued now. Rhett catches him looking at the now-healed bite scar on his arm every now and then, but they rarely talk about it. He’s glad that Link is still with him, at any rate. His other friends are on eggshells around him, which he hates but also understands. They’ve all seen the PSAs on TV and had sat through the same health class unit on werewolves. But gradually, as time passes and Rhett adjusts to his new life, they relax around him again. (Rhett doesn’t learn that Link plays a big part in their acceptance of him until much later.)

He still has mood swings, exasperated by already raging hormones. Once in high school, when Link’s staying overnight at his house, they argue and he gets so worked up that he punches a hole in his bedroom wall. He’s left with an oddly satisfying feeling at the sight of the broken plaster, so he goes to do it again.

“No no no... Rhett!” Link springs up and grabs his arm. Rhett turns and almost lunges at him, almost throws a punch at Link’s face, but he catches himself in time. That would have been one thing he would never have been able to forgive himself for.

Link wraps thin arms around his bigger frame – _calm down calm down Rhett please calm down_ – and rocks them both gently from side to side. Gradually the anger fades until Rhett realizes that his best friend is hugging him more tightly than anyone else ever has before and he’s starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that he is _very_ comfortable with this.

He extricates himself from Link’s grip and offers a red-faced apology. They end up sitting together on the floor, two teenagers listening to a Merle Haggard tape that Link brought over. When the last track ends, Link goes to flip the tape over. Rhett watches him thoughtfully.

“Hey Link?”

“Yeah?”

“What if we start our own band?”

“Hmm...” Link scratches at the hairs growing on his chin. (Rhett refuses to call it a beard since he can barely grow one. himself) “Well yeah, that might be fun.” He smirks. “Then when you get mad, you can punch your guitar ‘stead of me.”

They start the band with other friends and Rhett teaches himself guitar, which helps his mood greatly. He dates girls who ask too many questions about his scar, and a few who seem strangely attracted to him because of it. None of them stick around for very long once they meet Link.

~

After high school, he and Link attend the same college. They want to do something in entertainment together, something where they can both sing and play instruments, but Rhett’s dad says Absolutely Not, so they each major in a different aspect of engineering.

“You okay?” Link asks him one day. They’re studying in the library together this fall afternoon because they have similar class schedules on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“It hurts a lot.” Rhett runs a hand over his arm, where the old marks are still visible.

“I’ve been meanin’ to ask you.” Link turns his open book facedown on the table and reaches for the can of Coke he’d brought in, oblivious to the “NO FOOD OR DRINK” sign. “Did I ever thank you for… for saving me back then? When we got attacked?”

It’s the first time Link has mentioned the event in years and for some reason, the thought makes Rhett grin. “You told me thank you when you and your mom visited. You don’t remember?”

Link shakes his head. “That whole week was a blur, man.”

“Yeah.” Rhett’s smile fades. “You kissed me then, too, y’know.”

Link chokes and sputters. “Wh-what?” he manages, his face redder than Rhett has ever seen it.

“You did!” Rhett lowers his voice as students from a few tables over look up to glare at them, but he can’t hide his gleeful tone. “You kissed me and said thanks before you and your mom left.”

“Oh.” Link clears his throat. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“You don’t gotta apologize, man!” Rhett laughs. “I didn’t mind.”

Link’s eyes flick up at that, but he only reaches for his textbook and goes back to studying.

There is a full moon that night, which means Rhett has to take two pills. He’s in the bathroom washing his hands when their housemate Gregg calls him downstairs to watch the end of a World Series game on TV.

It’s a riveting game, that ends an hour or so later, and Rhett goes to bed thinking about batting stances and wondering if whether or not his height would make the game easier if he ever wanted to play.

He wakes up a few hours later with aching joints and a churning stomach. Getting out of bed is agony, his limbs refusing to cooperate. Panic sets in as his vision starts clouding over, color draining into unfamiliar hues of black and white. He opens his mouth to call for Link, but he doesn’t recognize the sound that comes out, a dreadful snarling.

“Rhett?”

The knock at the door is loud, too loud. Rhett bats at the doorknob. He can’t open his hands since they’ve both curled into fists so tight he can hear his knuckles cracking. His legs give out and he collapses as sudden agony rips through his body.

Someone’s speaking rapidly and touching him, fingers smooth and cool. Rhett cries out and curls in on himself. He just wants to be left alone. Strange colorless shapes dance across his vision, but it hurts to keep his eyes open.

There’s a hand on his face, a voice speaking again. He opens his mouth to tell them to _be quiet_ but another spasm of pain makes him yell. Then his head’s full of voices and screeching and cold metal latches onto his wrists. He’s never been in this much pain before, not even when he’d first been treated for his werewolf bite.

Gradually, the waves of pain lessen, the voices and cacophony around him quiet down. Rhett opens his eyes. Everything is blurry, but he can see color again.

“Hey Rhett.” Link’s voice.

“Hi,” Rhett says, and closes his eyes.

The next time he wakes up, his mother is holding his hand. He’s in a hospital bed, which is mildly surprising since he doesn’t remember being taken from his room. He tries to say something to her, but he’s falling asleep again.

When he opens his eyes again, Link’s sitting by the bed with one knee drawn up to his chest as he flips through a magazine.

“Hey Link.”

“Hey!” Rhett finds his hand quickly covered by both of Link’s. “Hey, man. Your family’s here, they just went to get something to eat.”

“Wh…” Rhett clears his throat and tries again. Link’s never held his hand before, and it’s distracting, but in a comforting way. “Why am I in the hospital?” His voice sounds weak and hoarse.

“I came in and saw you thrashin’ around on the floor so I yelled at Gregg to call 911. They said you didn’t take your meds.”

“I-I forgot,” Rhett murmurs. He’s weak and sore all over. “I’m sorry, Link. I never forgot to take ‘em before.”

“It’s okay, man.” Link’s voice wavers a little, but he still looks relieved. There might be tears in his eyes, but Rhett’s not sure.

“Hey Link, come closer,” he says. “Turn your head.”

“Why–”

Rhett purses his lips and grazes Link’s cheek. “Thank you.”

He can almost count the hairs on Link’s eyelashes.

“Rhett…”

Link closes his eyes, lifts his head, and when their lips meet for the first time, Rhett feels the warm relief of a previously unknown desire fulfilled. It’s a dry kiss, but it lingers. They only break apart when Link starts giggling hysterically.

~

Werewolf transformations are taxing on the body, and recuperating from one takes nearly a week for most people. When he finally gets discharged, Rhett goes straight home and sleeps for fourteen hours straight. When he wakes up, Link brings him a large bowl of mac and cheese and he thinks he’s never seen a more beautiful sight in his life.

The two of them kiss more after that, stolen moments between classes and while studying late at night. They talk as well, Rhett opening up about his terror of transforming again. He tells Link he doesn’t want to get married or have kids, not wanting to risk putting anyone else in danger.

Once at lunch, he asks Link, “What if I transformed again and bit you? Why do you stick around?”

Link laughs and brushes him off with a teasing response, but his eyes are still sad.

One night, while Gregg is out of town, Rhett pushes things further and Link seems happy to let him do so. They’re making out on Link’s bed, both flushed and wanting, the only light from the lamp on the desk. Rhett doesn’t remember climbing atop Link, but here he is, grinding slowly as they kiss. Desperate moans urge him on as Link shivers beneath him, hard and hot and needier than Rhett has ever seen him.

It’s not until they’re both down to briefs that Rhett sees it, the semicircular pattern of white marks just above Link’s knee.

“Link.” He puts a finger on the scar. “What’s this?”

Link doesn’t want to answer at first, but when Rhett insists, the words pour from him like water from a breached dam. He’d been holding Rhett that time he forgot to take his anti-wolf meds, see. Rhett had started the painful transformation, body curling in on itself as fur burst from his skin and fingers stretched into claws. The ambulance was already on its way, so Link could have just left then, locking the door behind him to keep Rhett contained. But he refused to leave Rhett alone.

He was in the middle of explaining this to Gregg when Rhett’s head snapped to one side – more a wolf than man now – and sank his teeth into Link’s leg.

“But I’m okay!” Link says. “They got the anti-werewolf treatments started on me in time.”

Rhett sits back on his knees. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I meant to tell you, man. Seriously. Just didn’t know how to bring it up.” Link takes his arm, pulls him back down. “That doesn’t matter.”

Rhett wants to say something else, but Link’s hands are tugging urgently at his briefs and his cock is desperate for attention.

“It doesn’t matter,” Link whispers again, and kisses him hard.

When they finally make love that night, they try to stifle their cries of pleasure, fingers digging into the sheets beneath them as they slowly move. Rhett shows his appreciation for Link in every way he can, exploring every sharp angle with the softest touch. Link responds with passion, an intensity to every motion that leaves Rhett breathless.  
Afterwards, Link shyly nuzzles into his embrace.

“It _does_ matter,” Rhett murmurs.

“Hm...” Link sleepily trails a warm hand across the expanse of Rhett’s stomach.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

The hand stops. “Don’t laugh at me, but... I-I like you a lot, Rhett. I like you ‘n I don’t care if you bite me a hundred times because you’re my best friend ‘n you saved me from getting bit and-and...” He’s in tears now. “And sometimes I feel bad about that, okay? I hate how you have to take those pills and how you get angry sometimes and how people look at you weird when they find out what you are. I-it was my idea for us to go fishing, don’t you remember that? If you hadn’t agreed, you wouldn’t have gotten bit.”

“Well...” Rhett doesn’t quite know what to say. He’s the one who thinks too much about stuff, where Link just comes right out and says it. “If... if it wasn’t a werewolf bite, it would’ve been somethin’ else.”

Link chuckles at that, wiping a hand quickly across his eyes. “Somethin’ to mess one of us up for life?”

“No.” Rhett sighs. “Somethin’ to make me realize I should’ve started kissing you a long time ago.”

“I kissed you first.” Link nudges him in the side.

“You don’t even remember that! Look...” Rhett rolls over and peppers Link’s face with tiny kisses, eliciting startled giggles from his best friend. “I’ve kissed you a million times more to make up for that one time.”

“I still did it first,” Link says stubbornly, and Rhett finally lets the subject drop.

Later, after Link’s fallen asleep and Rhett is alone with his thoughts, he catches himself running a finger over the scar on his arm.

He’s a werewolf, yes, and he knows there are some truly difficult and painful days both in the past and the future. But as he watches Link snore away, a wave of protectiveness washes over him.

“I’d do it again,” he says softly. “You know that, don't you, Link? I would.” He brushes the hair from Link’s forehead and kisses him one more time. Link stirs, brow momentarily furrowing before he goes still again.

“I’d fight a hundred werewolves for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> The slower it gets at work, the more random my writing gets, apparently. Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated! :)


End file.
